Florida is open to unique uniform combinations, like this one from '17, but will discuss them more going forwardgetty images
Univ. of Florida AD Scott Stricklin believes that the school has "probably strayed too much from tradition when it comes to uniform selection for football games in recent years," according to Thomas Goldkamp of 247SPORTS.com. Appearing earlier this month on ESPN Radio 98.1 Gainesville's "Sportscene with Steve Russell" show, Stricklin said, "We have some of the more iconic-looking traditional uniforms in college football. The blue jersey, orange helmet, white pants, that's a pretty clean look. So we want to be careful to not lose that brand identity by constantly changing things up. I think there may have been a time where we maybe fell victim to that." Stricklin said UF going forward wants that traditional combo to "be our primary look, but occasionally we'll tweak things." Goldkamp noted while UF is not "opposed to mixing things up, it'll be a joint conversation in the future if alternates are proposed." UF football coach Dan Mullen "hinted this spring that a black jersey combination would likely be in the works in the future" (247SPORTS.com, 12/26).
FAN ENGAGEMENT: 247SPORTS.com's Goldkamp noted UF fans likely have noticed "how many empty bleachers there are" at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium prior to kickoff, particularly in the student section, and Stricklin is "actively looking for ways to address" the issue. He said, "It's going to take a year or two to kind of come up with what that can be. We actually are studying that. We've had several meetings during this football season. There's going to be a cost involved in doing that." One possibility is "making the student section first-come, first-served seating." That potentially "encourages students to get to the game early, because they then get the best pick of seats." Currently, seats are "assigned right when tickets are claimed throughout the week." Stricklin also implied that the stadium is "likely headed to a slightly reduced capacity so that the hard, metal bleachers that make up most of the seats now can be replaced by more comfortable seating" (247SPORTS.com, 12/25).
